


The Night the Stars Fell like the Heavens are Crying and the Wish I Had Was Probably Lost in Some Place I Don't Know About

by sheilarie



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Adulthood, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Character Study, Early Work, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Not Beta Read, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-11-07
Packaged: 2021-01-24 05:11:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21332809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheilarie/pseuds/sheilarie
Summary: He's not a romanticist, nor an idealist, so he doesn't like shooting stars and their lies about being able to grant wishes. They aren't even real stars to begin with. Just pieces of rocks travelling to their apparent deaths, gaining some sort of luminous energy that's burning the life out of them. Suicidal rocks. Those are the things people wish upon. He doesn't know if it can still be considered romantic. But perhaps, to some people, tragedies are also a league of their own romance.Romantic tragedies.That, he can relate to.
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this unfinished monster way back 2014 to 2015, but then life happened and I lost most of my creative juices as I struggle in adapting from being a student to being an adult. I decided to put it here so that I can have an outlet of sort to pour this story. I don't know if anybody will be interested to read it, but do let me know if you do, so that I can be motivated to finish this. Because I really want to finish this story in this lifetime.
> 
> Title inspired by a Spamano doujin.

He's not a romanticist, nor an idealist, so he doesn't like shooting stars and their lies about being able to grant wishes. They aren't even real stars to begin with. Just pieces of rocks travelling to their apparent deaths, gaining some sort of luminous energy that's burning the life out of them. Suicidal rocks. Those are the things people wish upon. He doesn't know if it can still be considered romantic. But perhaps, to some people, tragedies are also a league of their own romance. 

Romantic tragedies.

That, he can relate to.

🌠🌠🌠

The night was as cold as any not-quite-winter-yet night can be. He had been lying awake on his bed for a while now, but the darkness in his room had lost his sense of time. The sky was moonless, and only the stars he could see from his window had kept him company all throughout his vigil. It wasn't like he couldn't sleep. Rather, he didn't want to. In probably a few minutes (he really couldn't tell), the forecasted meteor shower would arrive. Then it would signify the passing of midnight which means another year added to his age.

He wasn't waiting for that. 

A breath of wind sweeped through his windows, gently making the chimes ring. He knew that there was no point to call for the breeze on a cold autumn night like this, but he never really had the time to take the thing down. Also, he had reasoned, the sound it makes at the slightest movement soothes him.

Perhaps he simply liked the sound it makes. 

It reminded him of a music box he owned back then. The one he actually liked to listen to when he's having a hard time finding sleep. He had to ditch it one way or another because his roommate said it sounded creepy. Like someone's going to suddenly come out and stab them. Funny how different people can be, even when they breathe the same air and drink the same water. In some place, somewhere, there's a person who's unable to sleep. In another place, there's a person who's out for the night -- probably still working on his part time job or probably just on his way home, maybe unaware that he's the reason someone else is unable to sleep. They breathe the same air and drink the same water, and are both looking up at a moonless midnight sky but one of them is anxiously waiting for the star that has to die to make his wish come true while the other's pondering on the absurdity of wishing upon a space rock.

Twinkle twinkle little star. Wherever you go, please take my wish with you. 

Sleep was still elusive for him.

🌠🌠🌠

There was always something he was afraid of.

Darkness. What's within the darkness. Heights. What's waiting for him when he hits the ground. Things that happens only inside his head. Uncertain things that's made scary by their own uncertainty. People are just like that, he'd reason. Afraid of the unknown. Afraid of their own imaginations. Of monsters inside their heads. He'd look at the crowd of people passing by and wonders how many of them are real. How many of them are alive? How many of them are not empty? How many of them haven't been consumed by their monsters yet?

Stop thinking of difficult things.

It's funny how his brain tells him to stop thinking about difficult things, when it was the one who decided to think about them to begin with. And it's funny how he's thinking of his brain as a separate entity as him. 

I said stop thinking about difficult things.

Maybe his head is really malfunctioning. It started sounding like his roommate. Despite the full-blast volume of his headphones, that little voice was still talking like some sort of a naggy in-law, even commenting on how high volumes may damage his hearing one day.

But you probably want it that way. So you'd never had to listen to my annoying voice again.

The moment the voice started sounding sad, he knew he had to go home. And probably sneak to his roommate when he's sure that he's already sound asleep, and whisper the things he could only say when he's not listening.

Coward.

This time, the little voice sounded like his own. He really should go home now. The park wasn't the most comfortable place to stay at this not-quite-winter-yet season anyway. And the cake he'd brought this afternoon before his part time job was probably already ruined since that time when he was almost knocked over by his boisterous coworker when he's just about to keep it out of sight (read: hide it in the furthest back of the fridge). His shift ended a while ago, but instead of going straight home, he found himself warming a park bench. A few other people were also at the park, surely waiting for the forecasted meteor shower. Perhaps waiting for a way to have their wish granted. 

It wasn't like miracles happen easily. There should always be some sort of input or else the law of physics that was hammered to their heads in the university will be useless. If you wish for a jackpot in a lottery, even if you wish upon a star, you'd never win without buying a ticket. 

But even if he wished for it, he doesn't really know it he wants it granted -- and not like he believes that wishes upon burning space rocks will be granted. If the probability was the issue there, it would be on the same logical trail to wish upon people who get struck by lightnings. How absurd.

And even if he did wish for the prize, he couldn't bring himself to buy the ticket. Because even if he does get the prize, he knew he wouldn't know what to do with it. And he knew it would only attract trouble. So what's the point of winning in the first place? It's not worth it. He kept telling himself. The troubles aren't worth it.

What troubles? You won't know unless you actually tried, right? Why are you so scared already?

There was something he was always afraid of. And unlike the stars that grant wishes upon falling from the sky, he was afraid of heights.

🌠🌠🌠

Late night thoughts as he's lying on his bed counting the minutes until he should wake up if he was able to sleep right now -- which is far from happening -- are usually composed of vague ideas that one way or another will lead to that person who'd made sleeping a difficult job for him in the first place. 

They first met on their previous apartment building. It was a cheap catch for a decent area near the station and marketplace. Sure, sometimes the heater breaks down in the middle of late night showers and particularly loud claps of thunder assures an instant power outtage that's bound to be fixed only until the morning but on nights like those, a warm cup and the view of the cloudless sky after the thunderstorms are what gets him going -- and he found those nights really endearing. That if he will be asked for the most important snapshot of his 25th year in existence then he wants to show everyone that dark blanket of the sky adorned with possibly millions of twinkling stars. 

It was his little secret, but looking at the vastness of the galaxy above him makes him feel very small and irrelevant on the inside. And that one day, he wished to be able to tell someone this little secret. And perhaps, that person can change how he feels about himself.

Besides, the landlord was really nice and shows a legitimate concern to his tenants -- given that the apartment complex seems just as old as him already. But that was the problem. The building was already too old. After two years of his contract, when he was so sure that he wants it renewed, he was told that the building was already scheduled for demolition. It would be a lie to say that the idea didn't occur to him even once but the shock was still there after he learned it anyway. Especially how he was given only three months to relocate. He was offered a list with pamphlets attached of nearby residences way more expensive (three times the rent? you've got to be kidding) and another list on the same price range yet way less convenient than that one (no baths? miles away from the station?). Further was a list of movers and their schedules. 

It wasn't like he couldn't afford those skyscraper complexes that boast of their modern design, safety and prime locations. But a triple increase on the rent will make it harder to make ends meet. It means he would have to cut off the weekend supply of beers and Friday night takeouts -- which were the only pleasures of a mid20s bachelor like him could afford. Another thing that would definitely make him miss this place are the paper thin wall that allows him to listen to his neighbors affairs like some radio drama. Not that he's on friendly terms with his neighbors -- he would only sometimes share pleasantries whenever they meet (which was very seldom) in the stairs or halls or the building. He doubts that they even know his name but he very much knows theirs, from the snippets of their conversations the seeps through the paper thin walls. He especially enjoyed that weekly episode of 'Iwa-chan' decking 'Shitty-kawa' from 401 because 'now he's done it (again)' and the one where 'Bokuto-san' from 403 got wasted-drunk and his roommate 'Akaashi' thoroughly enjoyed reminding him how ridiculous he had been the next morning. From what he heard, 'Shitty-kawa' and 'Iwa-chan' (he decided that their identities will stay like this inside his head) would be getting a unit from that newly built condominium complex near the bus terminal while 'Akaashi' and 'Bokuto-san' plans on the nearby apartment complex much closer to the shopping district. He was torn on who to follow by then. The bickering from 401 was indeed funny to listen to but 'Akaashi' from 403 would sometimes share Sunday dinner specials with him. 

As much as possible, he wants to be in a place where there is a substantial amount of human interactions. Maybe because it was his frustrated dream to be a psychology major instead of slaving himself with programming and information technology. He derives a certain pleasure by simply observing people and their behaviour towards different impulses by their surroundings. Yaku once said that it was altogether weird for him to think that way, but when he thinks about it, it might have been expected of him to be kind of people observant. When asked to elaborate, Yaku said he regretted ever commenting on that. When they finished filling up college application forms, he saw that Yaku chose to be a high school teacher. He initially thought that it doesn't suit Yaku, first and foremost, with that height, but on a second thought, maybe it does suit Yaku too well, especially whenever he's scolding Lev about being too energetic. Perhaps he did understand what Yaku said before. 

The following weekend, he decided to roam around the vicinity to actually check on the advertised condominiums and probably find the pros and cons of each choice. He had already made a shortlist of five probably good choices and hoped that it wouldn't take the whole morning to see them all. He decided start his adventure with one near the bus station first, since it was the furthest from his present apartment. The area itself doesn't look comfortable though, people in a rush were bustling around, the bus station is noisy and stinking of vehicle fumes. But the actual building indeed lives up to the brochure's photos and in a sense, looks very much like something 'Shitty-kawa' would like. Spacey and looks very high class, and also ridiculously tall compared to the nearby buildings, as if it's trying to grab all the attention. He started wondering how 'Shitty-kawa' had the patience to live in their present apartment and it's perks. 

The next one was the one near that prestigious university and with extremely high rent. He thought he'd already cross that out from his shortlist but was reminded that he reconsidered since the school uniform of the university girls looked cute. And with many people traffic around all the time, it'll be a good observing spot for him and his unusual hobby. It was a stupid mistake to not realize that since it was a prestigious school, those filthy rich students would all be riding cars to the school so he wouldn't even get a glimpse of a handful of people walking on the streets. Walking on the street itself while there are several luxury cars passing him by had been an intimidating experience. He finally backed out of the neighborhood when he saw that huge gold plated crane statue in front of the supposed to be 'dormitel' that he was going to check out.

The third one in the list had been very hard to find, because of the tall grey walls surrounding the building that made it look nothing close to welcoming. He had to pass that fortress almost three times because he wouldn't believe that it was the one he was looking for. Also, the area was quiet (too quiet, by his standards at least) and somehow, the overall stillness bothered him. Double also, since the building was hard so find, it already took what's left of his morning and his patience. After about an hour of walking in the heat, his shirt sticked uncomfortably on his back and his throat felt very dry. 

So when he passed a cafe while heading to his next destination, he relentlessly took a detour and ordered 'something ice-cold and fast to make but not too bitter.' He sat on the coolest corner he could find and immediately gulped down a mouthful of this iced mocha latte that the serious looking cashier chose for him and decided that it tasted great despite being made in less than 3 minutes by her nervous looking coworker. Those two ladies at the counter couldn't be more different, with one having a very mature and sexy aura and the other being the cute and innocent. After cooling down for a bit, he pinched in an order of tuna pasta and garlic bread for some lunch. He only have two more prospects to go to and if Google Maps wasn't lying to him, he could finish them in less than an hour of walking and then maybe pass by the supermarket to stock up his beers before going home. 

As he waited for his meal, he scrutinized this new discovery of his. From the outside, it looked rather rundown, the kind that has been worn out due to age and weather, but he knew from a glance that it was the well-maintained kind of old. Even so, if he weren't that thirsty and tired, he supposed he wouldn't have the desire to enter the place. The interior lived up to his expectations of antiquity and the kind of set up that's most probably popular a few decades ago. There was even a set of ichimatsu dolls in a glass covered display right in the middle of the cafe. The wooden tables and chairs had already lost their gloss, most probably due to all the scrubbings they had endured through the years. Actually, the menu itself looked funnily too modern in contrast to the old-fashioned-ness of the place. Even so, there was a homey feel to it, probably because there were several regular customers coming and going in ways that they seem so familiar with. Or perhaps because of the soft background instrumental music that he swore he had heard before but couldn't really remember when or where or how. 

He considered texting his childhood friend, Kenma if he knows a song with a harmony of 'ten-ten-teh-ten, ten-ten-teh-TUN' and realized that he was being retarded as he typed it. His pasta arrived a bit later than he wanted, given that it was the lunch hour. It was a good place for the business, near some tech schools and a public university and another some residencial buildings. The station is only a few blocks away but he guessed that this stop wasn't that busy except for the university students and a random few. Nevertheless, the cafe got full with the influx of the students on their break. As he eats his pasta, he decided that he really liked this cafe's food and would make sure to add it to the pros of the next apartment complex he will be visiting. And maybe next time, he should bring Kenma here with him somehow so he could tell him from where those instrumental songs come from.

Google Maps proved to be correct when he found his next prospect four blocks away from the cafe he had been to. This one is a bit more similar to his previous apartment than the rest he had already seen. Kind of a mix of western and traditional Japanese architecture, with the entrance leading to a hall first rather than the actual living area, but forfeits that tatami for polished wooden flooring. Quite spacier, too and seems to have a stable electric supply. More importantly, the bath was less cramped for someone as tall as him who is at almost 6'2". His previous bath often gave him backaches. However, the place was definitely too big for a single person -- the LDK was at least 10 tatamis big and the bedroom can easily fit two beds. The rent was too big for a single person to handle, too. The one near the bus terminal offers a single unit alternative unlike this one though the bath there is even smaller than what he already had.

He was still counting the number of beers he had to cut down if he'd try to shoulder the rent of the previous apartment alone by the time he reached his last destination for the day. So far, this place was the busiest he had been for this journey. A shopping district on the left, a public high school on the right. A handful of skyscraper complexes along the vehicle congested streets. Forget substantial amount of human interactions, this place was screaming. The room that was offered to him did have a balcony as well, but the taller buildings around made it useless for night sky viewing. And with the amount of light pollution this place was bound to have, he doubted if he could see any star twinkling there at all. Besides, there's the fact that this final location was already a victim of his bias towards the one he previously visited, so the most he could see here were cons. Sorry 'Bokuto-san' and 'Akaashi', your Sunday dinner specials will forever be missed.

From 8 beers a week (1 can a day, 2 on Fridays) to three. He might as well give it up altogether. It wasn't like he was particularly dependent on booze or something like that. Initially, he just thought that at mid20s, it was a very adult-like thing to do, drink beers at night. Though it did help in the ambience of his late night sky viewing most of the time, to have something to warm him up and somehow clear his mind of his hazy days of repetetive debuggings and wondering 'where did I go wrong again?'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made this huge mess and they still haven't seen each other, in both the current time and in the flashback (evil laugh). I was planning to make this a coffee shop AU, as well, but perhaps if I made it that far, it will be for Kagehina in the same universe. Since this was all written way back 2015, characterizations were based from how they were in the manga back then. Several characters had also been skipped. Suguru-kun and Mika-chan would've been included as mob characters if I made this later (but maybe I can insert them somehow). Anyway, I really do plan on finishing this, since I have already planned out the story in my head 4 years ago. Hopefully, I'll make it before this year ends. 
> 
> Please find me on Tumblr @clipsandscreenies (fandom) | sora-mirin (main / personal)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Brothers, huh?" He heard himself whisper.
> 
> "Right, you were an only child, Kuroo-san."
> 
> "Well, I do have someone I can consider as a brother," he said fondly. I don't think he would accept that, though, he added to himself. He's suddenly reminded of the little brother trying to brush aside his elder brother a while ago. Why are little brothers like that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided that if I really want to finish something, I have to make progress everyday. Especially since this story was stuck with me for 4 years already. I have no reason not to write it.

"I'm sorry, sir. But this building is scheduled to be demolished in three months. If you want, please take a look in these pamphlets for nearby estates."

"That's too bad," an unfamiliar voice said. "We'll take these, thank you very much."

Kuroo just entered the lobby of the apartment building to find two tall men (brothers?) talking to Akane-chan, their landlady. One of them (the older one?) took the pamphlets from the receptionist table and handed them to the taller boy.

"We'll take these, thank you very much," the taller boy repeated quietly and the two of them bowed to Akane-chan before leaving the building.

As they passed Kuroo, he heard a still quiet murmur of, "You don't have to come with me, you know?" Answered by, "But Kei..." before their voices fade into the exit.

Akane-chan sighed when the two had left.

"Is there a problem?" Kuroo asked good-naturedly. Akane-chan was frowning deeply as she looks at the entry way where the two boys disappeared into. Possibly contemplating if she should or should not bother Kuroo with her thoughts. She did anyway.

"I still feel kind of sad, telling people that this building is going to be demolished," she said. "And those brothers also remind me of Tora-kun. He tries not to show it, but he's also feeling down lately."

Kuroo remembered that night 2 weeks ago when Taketora-kun knocked on his door with a few cans of beer as he tried (and failed) to cheerfully commemorate the scheduled demolition of their apartment building. Him and Akane-chan were also one of the reasons that Kuroo decided to live here in the first place. Taketora-kun was his junior in the university and the two of them offered great hospitality when he decided to be their tenant. 

"You were right, Kuroo-san. When I look at the vastness of the universe, this small building of ours seem insignificant," Taketora-kun had groggily lamented as he promptly drops his almost empty can of beer and falls back on his chair to fall asleep.

Kuroo knew that he was wrong. There are bigger universes inside each person. To Taketora-kun and Akane-chan, the apartment building was their bigger universe, enough to drown down all the worlds outside. But now that Taketora-kun is finally asleep, he decided to keep mum about that.

"Brothers, huh?" He heard himself whisper.

"Right, you were an only child, Kuroo-san."

"Well, I do have someone I can consider as a brother," he said fondly. I don't think he would accept that, though, he added to himself. He's suddenly reminded of the little brother trying to brush aside his elder brother a while ago. Why are little brothers like that?

He waved goodbye to Akane-chan, pointing at the not-so-ice-cold-anymore cans of beers in the market bag he was carrying. Perhaps he should discuss claiming his deposit some other day, when Akane-chan seems less sad or if Taketora-kun is manning the receptionist desk.

🌠🌠🌠

The next day, a Monday, Kuroo just had to push himself out of bed, as usual. Just another 5 days until the weekend, he reminds himself, like a mantra, as he drags his feet to the lifts of his office building. Up until he sat in front of the computer monitor, scanning mails from the corporate, his bosses, his team, the suppliers, the customers. 

"The code doesn't work," Suguru-kun dramatically drops a stack of folders in Kuroo's table, his sneering face making it seem like he's happy that the code doesn't work (Kuroo had to remind himself that they are still on the same work team, so Suguru-kun cannot possibly like it when their code doesn't work).

He hates that line and he hates that face. He glances at the computer clock. Nine-o-five. This is going to be a long week.

By Monday afternoon, he has started browsing for jobs (again) using the company resources. It seems that the real estate is still on the boom, with the big developers eyeing the suburbs outside Tokyo. If he remembers correctly, those Akaashi and Bokuto-san from 403 works for one of those well known real estate developers. Must be nice, to be working in a place that people had already heard of. That way, you don't have awkwardly explain what your company does to the housewife friends of your mother who are just trying to be polite when they ask you what you do for living.

That reminded him, he should go call his mother to update her and his father that their son is still working in that company they haven't heard of (because let's face it, 'Kaa-san, you don't even understand the computers much, how would you even know about an IT company, working with computers), he's still not yet promoted (but he's definitely going there, as longa s Suguru-kun stops breathing at the back of his neck), and he's still not getting married (please don't ask me anymore about it). 

"But your mother is right, you should be starting to think about the future," Suguru-kun said in between puffing his smokes. 

"And so do you, I heard Mika-chan hates smokers," Kuroo retorted, annoyed that the snakey man overheard his conversation with his mother. 

"And that's why I have limited myself to half a stick per day," Suguru-kun hummed as he puts out his half burned cigarette stick and places the remains in his smoke pocket. He then walked back to the building. "Make sure to come back before the break ends."

"Make sure to brush your teeth before kissing Mika-chan."

Suguru sent him the fly.

With a chuckle, Kuroo downed his cup of not-so-hot-anymore coffee and followed Suguru back to work.

🌠🌠🌠

Fortunately, Saturday did arrive without much problems at work. He managed to make his code work by Tuesday morning and Suguru-kun sourly told him that their customer was happy by Thursday noon, but also happily told him that he has another job to finish by Friday. How he wished that he got the arrangement of those facial expressions wrong. He didn't. Really.

That morning, Kuroo finished his newly planned early jogging circuit to the cafe he visited last time. Without the mirage of noon-time heat, Kuroo read the sign: "Crows Café" and was pleased to learn that they open as early as 6 AM. 

A bored "Welcome" greeted him as he entered the shop. 

"You have to greet the customers properly, Tsukishima!" yelled an orange fluff-head holding the mop from the other end of the room. Tsukishima, the lanky guy who was busy wiping the cups from the counter, ignored him. His face clearly spells 'I have no energy to fight with you.'

Kuroo stared at the unfamiliar yet familiar boy.

"Have we met before?"

Tsukishima's face morphed from 'I have no energy to fight with you' to 'I have no energy to joke with you.' "May I know your order, please?"

"Someone you know, Tsukishima?" 

"No. Shut up, Hinata."

Kuroo felt guilty for creeping out the lanky boy, but also felt out of place with the banter of the crews of the cafe. So much for customer service. He ordered an Iced Americano, carefully checking out Tsukishima to make sure that the boy wasn't offended enough to spit on his drink secretly. 

"I'm not the type of guy who will spit on someone else's drinks," Tsukishima whispered audibly and Kuroo guiltily shifted away his gaze.

A white paper taped on the post where the ichimatsu dolls are set caught his attention.

Roommate wanted. Please leave your contact info to —

"Tsukishima Hotaru?"

"It's Kei," Tsukishima said off-handedly. Then realized what he just did, and quickly turned his eyes on Kuroo who was holding his flyer.

Kei. Kuroo heard that name before.

"You were the boy looking for a room with his brother!" Kuroo triumphantly said, pointing at Tsukishima Kei, somewhat forgetting his manners in his eureka moment. "You went to Caps and Sets apartment last week."

Realization hit Tsukishima Kei. 

"Rejected!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I managed to insert Suguru-kun and Mika-chan. It makes me so happy. Since all I have was a framework of how I want this story to end, I'm happy that the story evolves as I write it.
> 
> I love writing about Kuroo. He seems to be happy go lucky outside, but I think he's the type to be studying the people around him, like how he has a good idea about how Kenma and Tsukki think, given that those two are the most emotionally high walled characters. 
> 
> I think the way I write will vary over the chapters. I'm starting to re-learn how to write again (not that I'm good to begin with, but I know I'm rustier now). Thank you for the kudos and the comment. Thank you for reading :)


End file.
